The United States' streak of world team gold medals ended at the 2026 world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, as the American women finished second behind China. The margin was razor-thin, just 0.233 points, and the result turned on a few pivotal late-competition moments, including a fall by Dulcy Caylor during her beam dismount, a disputed difficulty score for Skye Blakely on the same apparatus, and uncharacteristic errors by Reese Esponda on floor. China was nearly flawless on beam, gaining more than a four-point advantage over the U.S. on that event.
The competition was notable for several absences. Defending world all-around champion Angelina Melnikova was controversially denied a visa to enter the Netherlands, while Simone Biles had yet to announce whether she would return to competition. Hezly Rivera, the lone 2024 Olympic team member on the American squad, withdrew before qualifying with a left ankle injury. Russia also competed without two of its most experienced gymnasts from its 2020 Olympic gold-medal-winning team, Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova, and finished sixth.
Chellsie Memmel, technical lead for the women's team, said beam and execution scores would be points of emphasis going forward. She described the result as motivating, saying the team knows where it wants to be and that there is still work to do with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles less than two years away.
The American women still showed they belong among the sport's best. Two days after the team final, Skye Blakely and Claire Pease placed first and seventh, respectively, in the all-around final. Blakely, 21, had endured a series of setbacks, including an elbow injury at Olympic trials and a ruptured Achilles tendon at the 2024 Olympic trials, making the result a near fairy tale.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing